Accent lights with junction box controller

ABSTRACT

A system and method for an accent lighting system is provided. The system includes a plurality of underwater luminaires each having a plurality of light emitting diodes, and a junction box controller housing a plurality of electrical components for generating electrical signals for controlling the plurality of underwater luminaries. The junction box controller can be mounted to an electrical conduit and a plurality of cables can connect the plurality of underwater luminaires with the junction box controller. An underwater luminaire can include a heat sink and a flexible circuit board having a plurality of light emitting diodes mounted on the heat sink. The flexible circuit board transfers heat from the light emitting diodes to the heat sink. The underwater luminaire can also include a wiring harness for connecting the underwater luminaire to a cable. The underwater luminaire can also include a housing having a lens positioned at one end, an end cap mounted to an opposite end of the housing. The housing and the end cap can form a waterproof enclosure for the heatsink, the flexible circuit board, the plurality of light emitting diodes, and the wiring harness.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/666,439 filed on Aug. 1, 2017, which claims benefit of priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/369,526 filed on Aug. 1,2016, the entire disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates generally to lighting systems for variousinstallations such as landscapes, pools, spas, etc. More specifically,the present disclosure relates to accent lights with a junction boxcontroller for controlling the lights.

Related Art

Pool and spa owners often install pool/spa lights in order to addambiance to a pool/spa setting. For example, submersible lightsinstalled in the walls of a pool or spa are known and commonly used. Itis also known to install “accent” lights at various locations in a poolor spa, as well as at various locations in landscaping surrounding poolsor spas, to provide a desired lighting effect. Such accent lights areusually smaller than conventional pool/spa lights, and are designed tobe installed in conduits or pipes. Increasingly, pool/spa/landscapelights include light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which generate rich colors.

Often, pool and spa lights (including accent lights) include on-boardcontrollers for controlling light patterns emitted by the lights. Suchcontrollers are microprocessor-based, and often include stored lightcontrol programs that can be activated to produce a desired lightingeffect. However, the presence of the controller within the light, aswell as associated circuitry for driving the LEDs, adds to both the sizeand weight of pool and spa lights. Moreover, existing LED accent lightsare not sufficiently small so that they can be used in a variety oflocations (such as in steps, pool/spa decks, or other locations). Stillfurther, while it is known to remotely control pool/spa lights using acentral controller in communication with pool/spa lights, such centralcontrollers are often entire pool/spa system controller (e.g.,controllers which control devices in addition to pool/spa lights, suchas filters, pumps, heaters, chlorinators, etc.) Such system controllersare not inexpensive, and there are customers who do not desire topurchase such equipment but who still desire to have some type ofcentral control of lights.

The system of the present disclosure addresses the foregoing limitationsof existing pool/spa/landscape lighting systems by providing accentlights that can be installed in a variety of locations, and a junctionbox controller for providing central control of the lights.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to accent lights having and a junctionbox controller for such lights. The accent lights can be installed in apipe or a conduit, and can be located anywhere in a pool/spaenvironment, a landscaping location, or at other desired locationsthroughout a home or commercial installation. Each light includes a bodyhaving a back portion and a front portion, a cylindrical portion locatedin the front portion, an end cap located in the back portion, acompressible ring secured around the body, a lens attached to the frontportion, a flat shoulder disposed between the lens and the frontportion, a heatsink having a front surface and a back surface, and aplurality of light emitting diodes. The junction box controller includesa junction box, a plurality of connection lines for connecting theplurality of lights with the junction box, a transformer, a transformervoltage line connecting the transformer to the junction box, and acontroller housed in the junction box. The controller includes amicrocontroller and associated circuitry for remotely controlling theaccent lights.

An underwater luminaire is also provided. The underwater luminaire caninclude a heat sink, and a flexible circuit board having a plurality oflight emitting diodes mounted on the heatsink. The flexible circuitboard can be mounted to the heat sink and can transfer heat from thelight emitting diodes to the heat sink. The underwater luminaire canalso include a wiring harness for connecting the underwater luminaire toa cable. The underwater luminaire can also include a housing having alens positioned at one end and an end cap mounted to an opposite end ofthe housing. The housing and the end cap can form a waterproof enclosurefor the heatsink, the flexible circuit board, the plurality of lightemitting diodes, and the wiring harness.

An accent lighting system is also provided. The system can include aplurality of underwater luminaires each having a plurality of lightemitting diodes. The system can also include a junction box controllerhousing a plurality of electrical components for generating electricalsignals for controlling the plurality of underwater luminaries, thejunction box controller mounted to an electrical conduit. The system canalso include a plurality of cables interconnecting the plurality ofunderwater luminaires with the junction box controller.

A method for controlling an accent lighting system is also provided. Themethod includes receiving a plurality of electrical signals from aplurality of underwater luminaries, each of the plurality of underwaterluminaires having a plurality of light emitting diodes. The method alsoincludes determining whether the plurality of underwater luminaries weremanufactured by a certain manufacturer based on a SKU resistor and athermistor coupled to the plurality of light emitting diodes. The methodalso includes generating a plurality of electrical signals forcontrolling a plurality of underwater luminaires based on thedetermination that the plurality of underwater luminaries weremanufactured by a certain manufacturer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features of the disclosure will be apparent from thefollowing Detailed Description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side view of an accent light in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the light of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial exploded view of the light of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a heat sink included in the light ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the heat sink of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the heat sink of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating installation of the accentlight of the present disclosure in a conduit or pipe;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the light taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a junction boxcontroller of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a top view looking into the bottom portion of the junctionbox controller of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the junction box controller of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the junction box controller of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a top view of the junction box controller of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a printed circuit board of thecontroller;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating hardware components of thejunction box controller;

FIGS. 17A-17F are electrical schematic diagrams of the junction boxcontroller;

FIGS. 18A-18B are electrical schematic diagrams of the accent lights ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating hardware components of a secondembodiment of the junction box controller; and

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating processing steps for controllingaccent lights based on an audio signal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to accent lights and an associatedjunction box controller for use in various installations, as discussedin detail below in connection with FIGS. 1-20. As used herein, the term“pipe” or “conduit” refers to pipes, conduits, fixtures, and/or othercomponents in a pool or spa setting which are physically capable ofreceiving the light of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system of the present disclosure,indicated generally at 10. The system 10 includes a plurality of lights12 and a junction box controller 14 which includes a dedicatedcontroller for controlling operation of the lights 12. As shown, thecontroller 14 could be mounted on a plurality of conduits extending fromground 18, or at any other desired location. A plurality of cables 16interconnect the controller 14 to the plurality of lights 12, eachproviding electrical power and controlling light output for a respectivelight 12, as discussed in detail below. Also, as shown, a transformer 20is connected to the junction box controller 14 via a power line 22, forproviding low-voltage (e.g., 14 volts alternating current (AC))electrical power to the controller 14. A switch 24 could also beprovided for selectively controlling power to the lights 12, and forremotely controlling light “shows” (colors/intensities, and/orcombinations thereof) generated by the lights 12. A breaker panel 26could provide power to the switch 24, and could distribute power toother pool/spa components, such as heaters, pumps, chlorinators, etc. Ascan be appreciated with reference to FIG. 1, the junction box controller14 provides an unobtrusive, easy-to-install way of remotely controllingthe lights 12 from a central location.

Additionally, as noted in FIG. 12, each light 12 includes a plurality oflight-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a thermistor for monitoring temperatureof the light, as will be discussed in greater detail below. The lights12 could be installed at various locations in a pool/spa environment,and/or in landscaping surrounding such an environment. Preferably, thelights 12 are of a diameter sufficient to fit within ½ inch PVC conduit,which can easily be installed at desired locations in a pool/spalocation and/or in landscaping features. Due to their relatively smallsize, the lights 12 can thus provide accent lighting at locations whereordinary lights cannot easily fit, such as in steps, in rock formations,in pool/spa decking, etc. Of course, the lights 12 could be of anydesired size or shape without departing from the spirit or scope of thepresent disclosure. Further, it is noted that the cables 16 could be ofany desired length (e.g., 50 feet), and could include any desired numberof conductors (e.g., 5), and can be fed through conduit interconnectingthe lights 12 with the controller 14. The controller 14 includes aprogrammed microprocessor (as described in detail below) as well as aplurality of drivers (e.g., transistors and associated circuitry) fordriving LEDs of the lights 12.

FIGS. 2-9 illustrate the light 12 in greater detail. Referring to FIG.2, which is a side view of the light 12, it can be seen that the light12 includes a housing 34 having a cylindrical portion 36 and a frontlens 38 attached to (and/or, formed integrally with) the cylindricalportion 36. An end cap 30 attaches to the cylindrical portion 36 to forma watertight housing for the light 12. A compressible ring 32 is securedaround the body of light 12, and is positioned between the end cap 30and the cylindrical portion 36. A flat shoulder 40 is provided on therear surface of the lens 38 to allow for flush mating with the end of aconduit into which the light 12 is installed, as will be described ingreater detail below. As noted, the lens 38 could be integrally formedwith the cylindrical portion 36 or attached thereto using any suitableattachment means, such as ultrasonic welding, adhesives, mechanicalinterconnection, etc. As will be explained in more detail below,compressible ring 32 retains the light 12 in place when it is mounted onthe conduit by way of a compression fit.

Reference is now made to both FIGS. 3-4 in connection with light 12,which are exploded views of light 12, showing additional componentshoused within the cylindrical portion 36. Specifically, the light 12includes an internal coupling 42, a spacer 44, a heat sink 46, and aspacer component 48. The spacer component 48 is positioned withincylindrical portion 36 and disposed between lens 38 and heat sink 46, tofacilitate proper fitting of the heat sink 46 within the housing 34. Thelight 12 also includes wiring harness 50 which has a plurality ofelectrical contacts 52 (pins) within the harness 50. An annular surface56 of cylindrical portion 36 mates with a corresponding annular surface54 when the housing 34 is connected to the end cap 30. Additionally,when this happens, a protrusion 58 of the end cap 30 mates with a notch60 formed in the housing 34, to facilitate alignment of the housing 34with the end cap 30 and to prevent rotation of the two parts withrespect to each other when they are mated. The spacer 44 and the wiringharness 50 are positioned within the coupling 42. The cylindricalportion 36 has a greater diameter than internal coupling 42, whichallows the internal coupling 42 to be fitted within the cylindricalportion 36.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 5-7, which are perspective and rear viewsshowing the heat sink 62 and associated components in greater detail.The heat sink 46 includes a front surface to which a circuit board 61 ismounted, a cylindrical surface 62, a plurality of light emitting diodes64 (“LEDs”) mounted to the circuit board 61, an interconnecting circuit65, a rear surface 66, a connector 68, and plurality of wiring pins 70.The front surface is in thermal communication with the board 61 tofacilitate the dissipation of heat generated by the LEDs 64. The heatsink 46 can be constructed using any suitable material known in the artsuch as aluminum, copper, etc. The LEDs 64 can include LEDs of differentcolors and intensity (e.g., red, green, and blue (RGB) LEDs, white (W)LEDs, RGBW LEDs, etc., or ultraviolet LEDs). LEDs 64 are in electricalcommunication with a programmed controller in the junction boxcontroller 14, which provides the control signals to generate variouscolors, intensities, and light “shows” as will be explained in greaterdetail below. LEDs 64 are in electrical communication with the junctionbox controller 14 through wiring pins 70, which are in electricalcommunication with one of the cables 16 through electrical contacts 52.Connector 68 houses wiring pins 70, and therefore facilitates theconnection between a cable 16 and wiring pins 70.

It is noted that the circuit board 61 and the interconnecting circuit 65could together form a flexible circuit assembly, such that the board 61and the interconnecting circuit 65 could be formed from a single, flatpiece of flexible circuit board material. Once fabricated, the board 61could be mounted to the front face of the heat sink 62, theinterconnecting circuit 65 could be “wrapped” underneath the heat sink62, and the connector 68 (which is attached to the interconnectingcircuit 65) could be attached to the opposite (rear) face of the heatsink 62, allowing for quick and easy fabrication of the assembly.Optionally, the interconnecting circuit 65 and the board 61 could beseparate pieces.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 8-9, which are perspective andsectional views, respectively, illustrating installation of the light 12in a conduit 80. As can be seen, the conduit 80 surrounds the housing34, the end cap 30, and the cable 16 when the light 12 is installed inthe conduit 80. The lens 38 is flush fit against an edge of the conduit80 so that flat shoulder 40 directly abuts the edge of the conduit 80.The outer surface of compressible ring 32 directly engages with an innersurface 82 of the conduit 80 when the light 12 is installed in theconduit 80. The compressible ring 32 creates a frictional engagementwith the inner surface 82 of the conduit 80, such that the light 12 isdifficult to remove from the conduit 80. It is noted that thecompressible ring 32 could be disposed between the end cap 30 and thehousing 34, or anywhere on the body of light 12. Further, thecompressible ring 32 can be made of any material know in the art tocreate a sufficient force of friction with conduit 80, such as plastic,rubber, etc. The conduit 80 could be made of any material known in theart such as polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”).

Reference is now made to FIGS. 10-14 which are perspective and explodedviews illustrating the junction box controller 14 in greater detail. Thejunction box controller 14 includes a lid 90 and a bottom compartment92. The lid 90 is secured to a bottom compartment 92 with a plurality ofscrews 96 to create a tight seal to prevent debris, water, and otherforeign materials from entering the junction box controller 14. Thejunction box controller 14 also includes a plurality of apertures 94, acartridge 98, and a controller 100. The plurality of apertures 94 allowfor the connection of the plurality of conduits 80 to the junction box14, which facilitates an electrical communication between cartridge 98and controller 100 with plurality of lights 12. It is preferable thatcartridge 98 be easily removable so that it may be replaced in the eventthat it is damaged. The junction box controller 14 also includes anelectrical connector 102, a plurality of grommets 104, and apertures106. The electrical connector 102 provides input voltage to thecontroller 100. The electrical connector 102 receives its voltage inputfrom the power line 22. The plurality of grommets 104 create aprotective seal with the cables 16 (not shown in FIG. 14) in order totightly secure the cables 16 and protect them from adverse weatherconditions. The apertures 106 are the same as the apertures 94 but areshown in different views.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 15, which is a perspective viewshowing the controller 100 in more detail. The controller 100 includes aprinted circuit board 110, a plurality of wiring connectors 112, and anelectrical connector 102. The electrical connector 102 provides powerfrom power line 22. The printed circuit board 110 contains electricalcircuitry to control the plurality of lights 12, which will be discussedin greater detail below. The plurality of wiring connectors 112 includesconnectors corresponding to each color of the LEDs 64. For example, theconnector 112 could have a connector for each of red, green, blue, whiteLEDs, and one for ground. The controller 100 could also include awireless component for network connectivity in order to receive wirelessupdates and so that the user can remotely control all the functions ofthe system.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 16-17, which are block diagrams andschematics respectively, showing the circuitry of controller 100 ingreater detail. For each light 12 in the system, the controller 100includes a fly-back converter 134A-134E, a connector 136A-136E, an LEDFET driver 138A-138E, a remote temperature sensing module 140A-140E, aremote stock keeping unit (“SKU”) sensing module 142A-142E, and avoltage adjustor 144A-144E. These components will be discussed ingreater detail below. In the discussion below, reference will be made toreference numerals 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, and 144, it being understoodthat an individual one of the components 134A-134E, 136A-136E,138A-138E, 140A-140E, 142A-142E, and 144A-144E is being described.

FIG. 17A is a schematic showing components of the controller 100 ingreater detail. For example, the controller 100 includes an AC input124, which is connected to a fuse 162 to provide for overcurrentprotection with respect to the various components within the controller100. The AC input 124 receives its electrical input from the electricalconnector as shown in FIG. 15. The controller 100 also includes avoltage divider 126, which reduces the voltage of the AC input 124. Thevoltage divider 126 circuitry could include a combination of resistorsand capacitors as shown in FIG. 17A or any other suitable means known inthe art. The controller 100 also includes a bridge rectifier 128 toconvert the AC input 124 to a rectified direct current (“DC”) output.This could be achieved by arranging four diodes in the configuration asshown in FIG. 17A, however, any suitable method of converting an ACinput to a DC output could be used. The rectified voltage from thebridge rectifier 128 enters a low dropout voltage stabilizer 130. Chipnumber LP 2950 manufactured by Texas Instruments could be used as thelow dropout voltage stabilizer 130, however any other suitable chipcould be used. Capacitors and diodes could be arranged as shown in FIG.17A to keep low dropout voltage stabilizer 130 powered on in the eventof power loss. The purpose of the low dropout voltage stabilizer 130 isto maintain a constant voltage level output. This output is then used asthe input voltage to a microcontroller 132.

FIG. 17B is a schematic 160 illustrating the microcontroller 132 ingreater detail. The MSP 430F249 microcontroller manufactured by TexasInstruments could be used, however, any suitable microcontroller chipcould be used to create the pulse width modulation signals to controlthe plurality of LEDs 64 to create the desired “light” show. Power entryfrom the voltage divider 126 could be used as the input toP.10/TACLK/CAOUT, pin 12 of microcontroller 132. The I/O output pins14-18 could provide the enable input for the fly-back converter 134 foreach light 12 in the system. The I/O outputs 38-41 could provide thepulse width modulation signals for each color of the LEDs 64 associatedwith the system. For example, if RGBW LEDs are used, four pulse widthmodulation signals will be generated by the microcontroller 132, whichwill then branch off for each light 12 in the system. The pulse widthmodulation signals generated by microcontroller 132 will go the LED FETdrivers 138, which will be discussed in greater detail below. Thedisclosure is not limited to the configuration of microcontroller 132 asshown in FIG. 17B.

FIG. 17C is a schematic 160 showing the fly-back converter 134 and theconnector to light 136. The fly-back converter 134 converts therectified voltage from the bridge rectifier 128 to the necessary voltagesupply for the LEDs 64. The fly-back converter 134 also adjusts thevoltage to LEDs 64 based on the input from a voltage adjustor 144, whichwill be discussed in greater detail below. A transformer using inductorscould be used in the design of fly-back converter 134 to achieve thenecessary voltage to power LEDs 64. The inductors could have thenecessary ratio of coil turns to produce the desired output voltage. Anysuitable means other than a fly-back converter for converting andadjusting voltage may be used. The LT8302 chip manufactured by LinearTechnology could be used in the circuitry for fly-back converter 134 togenerate a signal related to the output voltage of the transformer.Alternatively, other suitable means for generating a signal related tothe output voltage of the transformer may be used including, but notlimited to, an optocoupler on the secondary circuit or a separatewinding. Once the current on the primary circuit is disrupted on thefly-back converter 134, a diode on the secondary circuit is forwardbiased allowing the necessary voltage to the LED 64 through theconnector to light 136. The connector to light 136 then provides returnsignals from the LEDs 64 corresponding to each color on the light 12.The LED 64 return signals are supplied to the LED FET driver 138, theremote temperature sensing module 140, and the remote SKU sensing module142, which will be discussed in greater detail below.

The LED FET driver 138 will now be described in greater detail. FIGS.17D and 17E illustrates red/green LED driver schematics 163-164 andblue/white LED driver schematics 166-168 respectively. For the LED FETdrivers 138, there is a pulse width modulation input signal that isgenerated by the microcontroller 132. This signal could be directed toan opto-isolator, which directs a transistor to allow the output fromthe remote temperature sensing module 140 and the remote SKU sensingmodule 142 into the LED FET driver 138 circuitry. The disclosure in thepresent application is not limited to using an opto-isolator and atransistor for this mechanism. Any other suitable means for receiving apulse width modulation signal and allowing the LED FET driver 138 tooperate based on that signal may be used. For the LED FET drivers 138,the output from the remote temperature sensing module 140 and the remoteSKU sensing module 142 could be maintained by an op amp or othersuitable means to provide the input to the voltage adjustor 144, whichwill be discussed in greater detail below. The return from each LEDcould be used to modify the load on the input signal to voltage adjustor144 through the use of various transistors and resistors as shown inFIG. 17D. Furthermore, one LED FET driver 138 can generate an inputsignal to turn on the remote temperature sensing module 140 and anotherLED FET driver 138 can generate an input signal to turn on the remoteSKU sensing module 142. The LED FET drivers 138 that generate thesesignals could correspond to the LEDs 64 that are connected to athermistor and SKU sensing resistor, which will be described in greaterdetail below. These signals could be generated upon receiving a pulsewidth modulation signal from microcontroller 132.

FIG. 17F shows the remote temperature sensing schematic 170 for remotetemperature sensing module 140, remote SKU sensing schematic 172 forremote SKU sensing module 142, and voltage adjustor schematic 172 forvoltage adjustor 144. The purpose of these circuits is to ensure thecorrect lights 12 are being used with the system (e.g., that the lights12 are proprietary and/or were manufactured by a certain manufacturer).The input to the remote temperature sensing module 140 could come froman LED 64 connected to a thermistor. The input to the remote SKU sensingmodule 142 could come from another LED 64 connected to a resistor. Thesesignals are the LED returns that come from the light 12 and theconnector to light 136. The input signals generated by the LED FETdrivers 138 are used to control a transistor or switch to allow the LEDreturns to generate the necessary output to control the LED FET drivers138. The LED returns are controlled and amplified in order to generatean adequate operating signal for the LED FET driver 138. Any suitablemechanism for achieving the necessary output could be used in thepresent disclosure. The voltage adjustor 144 receives its input from theLED FET drivers 138 as discussed above. The output from the voltageadjustor 144 is directed to the fly-back converter 134 for adjusting thevoltage to the connector to light 136 and ultimately the LEDs 64 in thelight 12. The circuitry in the voltage adjustor 144 should generate thenecessary signal to control the fly-back converter 134.

FIGS. 18A-18B show the LEDs 64 in greater detail. In particular, the LEDschematic 180 includes an LED pin connector 182, a thermistor 184, aplurality of red LEDs 186, a plurality of green LEDs 188, a plurality ofblue LEDs 190, a plurality of white LEDs 192, and a SKU resistor 194.The LEDs 64 receive its voltage from the fly-back converter 134. Asshown in the drawings, the red LEDs 186 are connected to thermistor 184in parallel, such that the return LED signals can provide the properinput to the remote temperature sensing module 140. Furthermore, theblue LEDs 190 are connected in parallel with the SKU resistor 194 toprovide the proper input to the remote SKU sensing module 142.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating hardware components of a secondembodiment of a junction box controller 214, wherein the junction boxcontroller 214 includes the ability to receive an audio signal from anaudio source and control output of the accent lights based on thereceived audio signal. The junction box controller 214 can include aprocessor 232. The processor 232 could include the microcontroller 132described in connection with FIGS. 16-18 above. In particular, theprocessor 232 can be an MSP 430F249 microcontroller manufactured byTexas Instruments or any suitable microcontroller chip to create thepulse width modulation signals to control a plurality of lights 212 tocreate the desired “light” show, in response to received audio signals.The plurality of lights 212 could include lights 12 described above inconnection with FIGS. 1-18B. The junction box controller 214 can receivean audio signal from a media device 300. The media device 300 caninclude, but is not limited to, a personal computer, desktop computer,laptop computer, smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, or any other device forgenerating an audio signal. The junction box controller 214 could takethe form of the junction box controller 12 described above in connectionwith FIGS. 1-18B. The junction box controller 214 can receive the audiosignal via a wireless transceiver 302 having an antenna 304. TheWireless communication can be accomplished through Bluetooth, WiFi,Zigbee, WiMAX, LTE, 3G, 4G or any other suitable wireless communicationmeans. Optionally, the junction box controller 214 can include a wiredtransceiver 306 for receiving the audio signal from the media device 300from a wired network connection. The wired transceiver 306 cancommunicate with the audio device 300 through a Ethernet connection,serial, fiber optic, coaxial, HDMI, USB or other suitable means. Thejunction box controller 214 can include LED driver circuits 308 forcontrolling the plurality of lights 212. The LED driving circuits 308could include the LED driver circuits explained above in connection withFIGS. 16-18. The junction box controller 214 can optionally include anaudio amplifier 310 for receiving an audio signal and processing thesignal and transmitting it to a speaker 312 for playing the audio. Audiocould also be streamed in parallel to another device such as a speaker.The speaker could also be external to the junction box controller 214(e.g., one or more outdoor (“landscape”) speakers near a pool/spa,etc.).

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating processing steps 350 for controllingaccent lights based on an audio signal. In step 352, the junction boxcontroller 214 receives an audio signal from a media device 300. In step354, the processor 232 generates a light control signal based on theaudio signal received from the media device 300. In particular, theprocessor 232 can coordinate a “light show” based on the amplitude,wavelength, and/or frequency of the received audio signal. For example,the processor 232 can generate a light control signal to control theintensity and colors of the lights, lighting sequences and the durationof lighting, and/or activation and deactivation of light controlprograms based on the music type. Additionally, the processor 232 canextract a portion of the audio signal and generate a “light show” basedon the portion of the audio signal extracted. In step 356, the junctionbox controller 214 can control the plurality of LED lights 212 using thelight control signal generated by the processor 232.

Having thus described the invention in detail, it is to be understoodthat the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit orscope thereof. It will be understood that the embodiments of the presentinvention described herein are merely exemplary and that a personskilled in the art may make any variations and modification withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. All suchvariations and modifications, including those discussed above, areintended to be included within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A junction box controller for controlling aplurality of underwater luminaires, comprising: a junction boxconfigured for installation at a pool or a spa location; alight-emitting diode (LED) driver circuit positioned in the junction boxand in electrical communication with an underwater luminaire, the LEDdriver circuit generating electrical drive signals for driving aplurality of LEDs of the underwater luminaire; and a controller incommunication with the LED driver circuit and positioned in the junctionbox, the controller controlling operation of the LED driver circuit tothereby control light output by the underwater luminaire, wherein theLED driver circuit receives a thermal return signal from the underwaterluminaire and controls operation of the underwater luminaire based onthe thermal return signal.
 2. The junction box controller of claim 1,wherein the controller generates pulse width modulation signals forcontrolling the underwater luminaire.
 3. The junction box controller ofclaim 1, further comprising a fly-back converter for providing a voltagefor powering the underwater luminaire.
 4. The junction box controller ofclaim 3, wherein the fly-back converter receives at least one returnsignal from the underwater luminaire and adjusts a voltage provided tothe underwater luminaire based on the at least one return signal.
 5. Thejunction box controller of claim 3, further comprising a bridgerectifier for converting an input alternating current signal to a directcurrent output supplied to the fly-back converter.
 6. The junction boxcontroller of claim 3, further comprising a voltage adjuster incommunication with and controlled by the fly-back converter forcontrolling the voltage for powering the underwater luminaire.
 7. Thejunction box controller of claim 1, wherein the LED driver circuitreceives a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) return signal from the underwaterluminaire and controls operation of the underwater luminaire based onthe SKU return signal.
 8. The junction box controller of claim 1,further comprising a transceiver positioned in the junction box and incommunication with the controller.
 9. The junction box controller ofclaim 8, wherein the transceiver communicates with a remote device, theremote device remotely controlling the junction box controller.
 10. Thejunction box controller of claim 9, wherein the transceiver receives anaudio signal from the remote device.
 11. The junction box controller ofclaim 10, wherein the controller controls operation of the underwaterluminaire based on the audio signal.
 12. The junction box controller ofclaim 10, further comprising an audio amplifier and a speaker forplaying the audio signal received by the transceiver.
 13. An underwaterillumination system, comprising: a junction box controller having ajunction box and configured for installation at a pool or a spalocation; a plurality of underwater luminaires in electricalcommunication with the junction box controller, each of the plurality ofunderwater luminaires including a plurality of light-emitting diodes(LEDs); a plurality of light-emitting diode (LED) driver circuitspositioned in the junction box and generating electrical drive signalsfor driving the plurality of LEDs of the underwater luminaire; and acontroller in communication with the plurality of LED driver circuitsand positioned in the junction box, the controller controlling operationof the plurality of LED driver circuits to thereby control light outputby the plurality of underwater luminaires.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein each of the plurality of LED driver circuits receives a thermalreturn signal from a respective one of the plurality of underwaterluminaires and controls operation of the respective one of the pluralityof underwater luminaires based on the thermal return signal.
 15. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of LED driver circuitsreceives a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) return signal from a respective oneof the plurality of underwater luminaires and controls operation of therespective one of the plurality of underwater luminaires based on theSKU return signal.
 16. The system of claim 13, further comprising atransceiver positioned in the junction box and in communication with thecontroller.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the transceivercommunicates with a remote device, the remote device remotelycontrolling the junction box controller.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein the transceiver receives an audio signal from the remote device.19. The system of claim 18, wherein the controller controls operation ofthe underwater luminaire based on the audio signal.
 20. The system ofclaim 18, further comprising an audio amplifier and a speaker forplaying the audio signal received by the transceiver.
 21. A junction boxcontroller for controlling a plurality of underwater luminaires,comprising: a junction box configured for installation at a pool or aspa location; a light-emitting diode (LED) driver circuit positioned inthe junction box and in electrical communication with an underwaterluminaire, the LED driver circuit generating electrical drive signalsfor driving a plurality of LEDs of the underwater luminaire; and acontroller in communication with the LED driver circuit and positionedin the junction box, the controller controlling operation of the LEDdriver circuit to thereby control light output by the underwaterluminaire, wherein the LED driver circuit receives a Stock Keeping Unit(SKU) return signal from the underwater luminaire and controls operationof the underwater luminaire based on the SKU return signal.
 22. Thejunction box controller of claim 21, wherein the controller generatespulse width modulation signals for controlling the underwater luminaire.23. The junction box controller of claim 21, further comprising afly-back converter for providing a voltage for powering the underwaterluminaire.
 24. The junction box controller of claim 23, wherein thefly-back converter receives at least one return signal from theunderwater luminaire and adjusts a voltage provided to the underwaterluminaire based on the at least one return signal.
 25. The junction boxcontroller of claim 23, further comprising a bridge rectifier forconverting an input alternating current signal to a direct currentoutput supplied to the fly-back converter.
 26. The junction boxcontroller of claim 23, further comprising a voltage adjuster incommunication with and controlled by the fly-back converter forcontrolling the voltage for powering the underwater luminaire.
 27. Thejunction box controller of claim 21, further comprising a transceiverpositioned in the junction box and in communication with the controller.28. The junction box controller of claim 27, wherein the transceivercommunicates with a remote device, the remote device remotelycontrolling the junction box controller.
 29. The junction box controllerof claim 28, wherein the transceiver receives an audio signal from theremote device.
 30. The junction box controller of claim 29, wherein thecontroller controls operation of the underwater luminaire based on theaudio signal.
 31. The junction box controller of claim 29, furthercomprising an audio amplifier and a speaker for playing the audio signalreceived by the transceiver.